Renee Fleming - È strano...Sempre Libera "La Traviata"

[Llilyhful]

I love Renee Fleming, but in my mind Violetta would sound "younger". Renee has such a large and warm voice, I'd see her more in a "mother" or "queen" role.

[alain0323]

Here's a soprano at the the top of her game. Coloratura in harmony with the scene, not too pushy jusy well rounded.. perfect Renee !! I have to admit I'm a fan!!!

Alain

[raaadja99]

I always liked her high notes but I can't listen to her throatiness as it makes a very ugly sound in lower register. Besides this, Violetta is just not for her. In Fleming, I also lack charms and passion necessary for this character.

[jankerle58]

Well, she lost her criteria, realy. So much coup glot wovels, my throat hurts... And than this lac of elegance... She simply dors what she wants. I am sooo desapointed...

Loved her Mozart, but now she sings without any musical discipline...

No go!

[operageek1011]

I agree that this is not Renee's best role, but my goodness people that does not make her a bad singer. Her technic is much better now than in the 90's.

[andoniitu]

Excuse me AmericaEvita but i think she is one of the greatest singer of Sempre Libera.I think the end is very good.But i don't like very much the way she read the letter.

I prefear this version than Anna Netrebko or Natalie Dessay(Dessay's song is agressive but i like her voice in other songs).

I didn't say she is superior than Callas but she has a better voice here.Callas was a great singer but she did not have an excellent voice!

And I KNOW the story of La Traviata.

[AmericanEvita]

@andoniitu  I recommend you open your ears to BETTER Violettas. Check out Anna Moffo. She is incredible...a far more beautiful voice than Fleming, with great middle register and high notes and acting ability. For me, she's just perfect. You might also want to check out Renata Tebaldi, who always sang terrific Violettas & Mirella Freni. Fleming is too old here and can't sing Verdi as Verdi wrote. Carol Vaness is better as Violetta in our modern time.

[AmericanEvita]

Ugh well someone tried to convince me to hear this a few more times to convince me it's good but IT'S NOT. It's ATROCIOUS. It's the worst sung Sempre Libera of all time. Renee Fleming should never have sung Violetta. Listen to 8:47- 50. The way she angrily screams out "sempre". That's awful! And 9:28 to 9:33...what the hell is that ?? SHE DOESN'T HAVE COLORATURA OR ANY TRILL!!

[andoniitu]

she is really good in this role, i don't see any problem with her voice,and i think she is vocally superior than callas in this aria!

of course she is overplaying, violetta is going crazy of love!

[AmericanEvita]

@andoniitu This aria is not about Violetta going crazy for love. She is conflicted about her options: a carefree life in pursuit of pleasure or a more solid relationship based on love for Alfredo. And you opened up Pandora's box saying that Fleming is superior to Callas. You're the one going crazy by saying that. Callas owned the role of Violetta and is a legend and always will be. Fleming just can't sing Violetta or Verdi operas. I'm only into her 1990's Mozart opera career

[Turee85]

strepitosa! e stupenda..

[kgarmaker123]

Finally a good choice.. NO run at the E flat.. and for her voice the written ending souded about right for her.

[littlechildren01]

i actually don´t think her coloratura is the problem, cause even though she is a lyric soprano she really can do certain coloratura roles, such as armida of rossini, netrebko would love to have her colorotaura... i think that the problem here is that the music doesn´t really suits her voice at all. that and the fact that the she makes a lot of ornamentations that are not necesary at all, and that make that the lyricsm of the piece geats completely lost.

[musicalopera93]

why does it sound like shes trying to gasp for air?...

[AmericanEvita]

Fleming really can't sing Violetta. She over sings it (as she has anything she sang during her 2000's period career) she over-does it and she's clearly uncomfortable and awkward in the role. Like others have pointed out, she doesn't have coloratura. Her only good Verdi role is the Desdemona of Otello. Why did she chose to sing Violetta so late in her career (she was already in her 40's). Many sopranos sing this as students! The best Violettas are Moffo, Sills, Callas, Lorengar, Varady & Zeani

[kgarmaker123]

@AmericanEvita I will tell you why she waited. Had she attempted Violetta when she was young.. and sang the fiortura.. this way, she would have received sooooo many bad reviews.. she would not have had the career she has had... She should have left this role alone.. She is unsuited to it.. and all this croony stuff needs to STOP> Its horrible. She is horrible. in this role.. unconvincing. unmusical and vocally inferior.

[AmericanEvita]

@kgarmaker123 Finally someone who agrees with me. Bottom line: Fleming doesn't have coloratura & fioritura. She never has. She's a straight lyric soprano. Her Countess in Figaro is gorgeous, her Manon is beautiful, her Rusalka was once her signature role. Fleming was at her best in the 1990's. In the 2000's and now, she ruined her voice with too many jazzy embelishments and ornamentation. Same thing happened to Bartoli, who was also better in the 90's. Fleming's better suited to the Countess!

[kgarmaker123]

@AmericanEvita She is an outstanding Mozart singer( at least in some roles) and Manon( great) and Thais.. ( pretty good there too). She is a lyric soprano thats it, and she cannot sing belcanto because she cannot neatly embellish so in stead she choses slurs, and jazzy stuff, that makes us nuts, but its because she cannot do it right.or she would.

[cantanteporsiempre]

The drunk Traviata? lol

[Huitzi69]

@cantanteporsiempre Por supuesto que esta borracha! es el final de una fiesta!

She's drunk, she must be drunk, it's te end of a noche loca! Learn about Traviata!

[cantanteporsiempre]

@Huitzi69 Learn?? I have sang it once, and my mother sang it like a hundred times. Find out before say stupid things

[kgarmaker123]

Man she is so slow in the coloratura.. because she cannot do it at the right temp.. she is straining.. ... to make the pitches.. and sing.. louder than she can sing. this is not the role for her.

[matthieusarah]

Please audience of the world don't applause between the "E strano" part and the "folie folie..."!

[Chilair1]

@matthieusarah you're supposed to.

[Ircadur]

The tempo really is too slow for her voice. Noone sings it better than Anna Netrebko though. Renee is still a great singer.

[Royalorgans]

This aria is definatly not for Renee, For one thing, she is tired and struggling to keep singing.

[ancutzili]

What a slow tempo! Are they trying to get everybody to sleep?

[Royalorgans]

The problem is not so much the tempo of the conductor, Buy Renee Fleming cant sing but so fast becuase she does not have the control of a Coloratura. Beverly Sills sand this ten times better than what Renee Sang it. If you want to see who sangs it the best, Then you will love Joan Sutherlands version 100 times better than Renee Fleming.

[kgarmaker123]

@Royalorgans

Get Real.. the clear winner in the Violetta contest is Callas.. She is vocaclly, musically and dramatically the most convincing Violetta ever.

[domi2020]

Anyone notice whether she sang the coloratura passages as if she was expectorating frogs ??:)) Weirtd but this is not top nocth Renee. She does a better turn in 2008 at the MET.

[Royalorgans]

Renee Fleming is not capable of singing long coloratura phrases like this one, That is why the tempo is so slow becuase if it were up to tempo, she would gasp for a breath and probably crack notes.

[preppybeast6293]

Renee and Joan are not the same voice types... Joan is way better! Renee is too shaky, she reminds me of Natalie Dessay.....

[GwendolynBlack]

And her type of soprano does belong in this role its like saying Joan Sutherland doesnt belong doing this role because her and Renee are the same voice types....

[GwendolynBlack]

the Spot in this is terrible very shakey

[GwendolynBlack]

she has (in my opinion) the best technique of her time....

[Royalorgans]

You must not listen to voices very often or know the true coloratura style. If you think that she has the best techniqe ever. Renee Fleming even admits getting infomation from Joan Sutherlnad and Leontyne Price.

[CatalinaDM56]

I wish she wouldn't throw in that weird gasping all the time.

[luisortmul]

not bad, but not very good either... i'm disappointed really

[isabelle070209]

Dire que certains disent qu'elle est "sur le retour"... Pas mal pour une presque "has been" non? (humour je suis fan de cette femme, peu ont chanté, ou chante comme elle).

[amwam]

Does it sound like she sings with a clenched jaw sometimes, or at least a rather tight armature?

[littlechildren01]

i´m sorry, but i don´t know where this can be classified, or tu put it in other wat, where dos verdi belong?

is he part of the last days of bel canto, or does his work is part of the verisimo?

[stevereno31]

Verdi was very transitional in many aspects, which is what I love about his works. This opera is considered by many to contain the beginnings of verismo, but you can't ignore the bel canto aspects either. It's a little like trying to classify a lot of Beethoven's works strictly. You just can't do it.

[fpolende]

i REALLY like renee as violetta.

[pagliacci83]

Don't get me wrong...I like Renee...but NOT as Violetta. This is not really showing her voice off well...she's scooping and sliding all over the place (7:22) and has some terrible glottal attacks on high notes (8:33) not to mention being off pitch occasionally (7:12 and 7:35). She also does not sing the coloratura with much ease and "hacks" at the notes (9:33). I think she is much better suited in other repertoire.

[belcantowvu]

I love Renee Fleming, and she is my absolute favorite singer. With that said, her Sempre Libera (especially this one) is not my favorite. I just don't think it fits her voice well. However, I must say, I don't hear anything out of tune or "off pitch," even at the places you pointed out.

[SVENSKSOPRAN]

Agree with lady, and about the e, it IS optional which means the composer intended it if the prima donna has it. IF.

[belcantowvu]

Did the composer actually write the E flat or did some soprano interpolate it and then it became so popular that editors included it as an option?

[pagliacci83]

Verdi did not write the high Eb and, as you stated, it probably has become tradition because someone added it. It's a chance for the soprano to show off...however, it's not necessary. Some conductors actually don't like it. I find that many sopranos have the note but don't feel it's "worth it" to potentially sacrifice an otherwise good performance with a sour note at the end.

[skitzo429]

whenever you hear a high note like that at the end of an aria from a 19th century opera, the composer never wrote it. most sopranos sing that Eb, renee sometimes does and sometimes doesnt, there are a handful that dont, but thats uncommon, time and tradition of performance practice have made it part of the music

[AmericanEvita]

I saw this production of the LA Opera but with a different soprano without any star power. Fleming took a long time to finaly sing Violetta. It's not really a role that fits her voice which is lyric ( a good Violetta still has to have either coloratura or fioritua) but she looks great, sings great and the sets and costumes were to die for

[pppbubs]

as an avowed Fleming fan, I love the interpretation, but must question the hearing of many here: where the heck is the e flat?

[OperaLover84]

I'm not thrilled that she doesn't do it either -- but it's optional in the score and she probably just didn't have it securely in her voice the night this was recorded. She also didn't do the E flat when she did her most recent Violetta at the Met when I saw her there. It's such a shame that such an amazing voice doesn't have secure and comfortable extreme high notes consistently.

[skitzo429]

its not optional in the score, its not in the score at all. She has an Eb, and higher, and she performs this with the Eb sometimes, sometimes not. its a matter of personal taste and interpretation, not an issue of whether or not she has the notes secure

[victoriamadeus]

The primadona has been sent to charm people with her grace and her angelic voice, I love you Renee and I'll never get enough of saying it...

[dessayfan]

e il mi bemolle (e flat)ke fine ha fatto?

[Dymension]

Her piano singing gets a little mannered, almost crooning...

[lady00010]

It's a totally original way of singing it, as an interior monologue. Fabulous.

[Dymension]

There is also a lusciousness about it...

[POTFFREAK4LIFE]

absolutely,its a lyric role with some

dramatic moments.

Fleming is a pure lyrical voice,beautiful,

brava.

[DonnaZerlina]

Beautiful production, beautiful singer, beautiful interpretation of the role. Renee Fleming is an absolutely amazing Violetta IMO!

[promthjr]

She looks so pretty here!

her trills are to die for. I guess it is not as good as Callas, Cotrubas or Sills... but it must have been a great performance to be at.

[lady00010]

Absolute rubbish, she is just as good if not better

[skitzo429]

those 3 sopranos, and fleming, are completely differnt types of sopranos, comparing them liek that is foolish

[altodivo]

gorgeous.

[zansidhe]

Interestingly enough, the High E Flat at the end of the aria is interpolated - it's been done so much that everyone expects it, but Verdi wrote the aria without the E Flat. So, if you're going for a strict interpretation of the aria then Renee's ending is actually correct.

[a440nick]

yeah thats usually a nightly choice between the diva and the conductor.

[aurele65]

Elle chante magnifiquement bien mais à mon avis ce n'est pas un rôle fait pour elle.

[isabelle070209]

Je pense au contraire qu'il en faut quand même "sous la semelle" pour ce rôle (avis perso tout est subjectif).

[saverioorlando]

She needs very long TEMPO befor Cs and her coloratura is uncertain.American taste...for the acting.Good voice.

[Caskader]

I'm not a great fan of hers, but I really liked her trills

[gransasso101]

The whole jazzy thing is a matter of personal taste that she obviously likes but there is absolutely no lack of technique in her case. She is a technical genius and her only rivals in technical terms are Sutherland and Caballe. That is it. She is supernatural.

[lady00010]

Hear, hear, and go to the devil those who wish to destroy the sublime

[isinglouderthanu]

can anyone else not hear that this woman sounds like she is being strangled?! Iam sorry, but this is somewhat of a coloratura piece... Her tone is way too dark and is forced, this is nothing but a mess.

[zansidhe]

The role of Violetta actually requires a full lyric soprano voice with upper flexibility which Renee Fleming certainly has. It is a common misconception that it is a coloratura role - most coloraturas cannot handle the lyrical lines in the following acts of the opera.

Personally, I feel she is well suited for the role.

[InformedListener]

You are so right about the voice type necessary to sing this role. Violetta is somewhat of an accelerated growing-up of a soprano, starting the role with a girly, coloratura-ish feel, and then gradually progressing in the degree of emotional complexity and vocal arsenal necessary to convey these complex emotions.

[jimmyisalmaviva]

this is absolutely not a coloratura piece. It is a common misconception that this is a coloratura role. It's not. Violetta is a full lyric with some flexibility and agility and Renee Fleming certainly fits the bill. She's brilliant.

[burtsbees2]

actually, in terms of fach, it is considered to be a dramatischer koloratursopran role. that's not to say that it hasn't been sucessfully performed by many sopranos that don't specialize in coloratura, renee fleming being one of the better ones.

[CHerbek]

Love love love! She is amazing here, and when she doesn't push the high notes, it's stunning! Her high notes towards the end sound better.

[musoph21]

renee always sells it when she does those trills! Although this performance is good, i must be honest and say that it does sound a little "jazzy" at times.

[fiesco7]

I also own this DVD. I was not disappointed by the fact that she doesn't opt for the high Eb at the end because on her other recordings of the aria she doesn't do it. Actually I think it's brave of her not to do it becaause obviously she feels confident in her artistry that she doesn't feel the need to whip out the Eb. At any rate, her interpretation here is dazzling - singing and acting. I love what she does at the end of "Ah fors e lui"...WOW!

[iAMturandot]

i got this DVD for christmas and loved every second of it. i was disappointed there was no high note at the end, but oh well it was still an amazing performance. thanks for putting it up!!! =)

[hwhap13]

Me too! And I WORSHIP Renee :)

The best voice of all times! I have no more doubts.

[iAMturandot]

oh dont worry about being alone in worshiping renee =P

im getting this small, but growing, feeling that she can do anything. haha =)

[shinjitsu85]

You're not the only one disappointed by her not hitting the high e flat at the end, but from all the recordings i've found, she doesnt do it. It IS an optional high note but I wish she would. Either way I love her sooo much. She is truly an artist...

[CHerbek]

If you search google videos for Renee's "sempre" there is a vid of her doing it at Houston Grand Opera, and she does the high E flat! She does it a little differently - she scoops up to it, but it's there.

[CHerbek]

If you search google videos for Renee's "sempre" there is a vid of her doing it at Houston Grand Opera, and she does the high E flat! She does it a little differently - she scoops up to it, but it's there.

[pequitasazules]

Could you please post the link of the E flat?? I couldn't find it!!

Thanks =)!

[garconfrancais01]

OMG I WAS THERE!!!! SHE LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO DID THE STAGE!!!! however, the acoustics were not that good.